16GB of on-board storage? Pathetic. 32GB MicroSD card? Miserly. Samsung is teaming up with its subsidiary Seagate to provide an add-on mobile storage solution that should outstrip just about everything out there, and do a few more tricks as well. The "Samsung Wireless" device is combination Wi-Fi/USB portable hard drive and portable battery with a gigantic 1.5TB capacity, set to sell for $179. Unfortunately there's no reliable release date, and it's not available on the Samsung store at the moment.

The Samsung Wireless drive will allow for five simultaneous mobile connections to its Wi-Fi hotspot, plus it will work as a more conventional USB 3.0 portable hard drive. If you've got a router with a USB port handy and it's smart enough to cooperate, the Samsung Wireless gadget will also play pass-through - you can connect to the wireless drive and it will share the router's Internet connection as well. On top of all that, you can connect a phone or tablet to the drive's USB port for a quick battery boost. Specific battery capacity isn't mentioned, but the gadget will be able to power up and host files on its own power for seven hours.

A companion app for easy access and transfers is coming for Android devices. Physically, Samsung Wireless looks like a standard 2.5" portable hard drive, though it's pretty chunky with that integrated battery. For all the things it can do, it seems pretty reasonable (a similar 1TB drive from Seagate is currently going for about the same price on Amazon). Promotional material mentions an "April 2014" date that's obviously been missed, so I imagine it won't be long before you can pick one of these up.

One last thing: here's a slide from Samsung's promotional PowerPoint. "OS takes 5GB or more of [internal] memory," eh Samsung? You don't say. Thanks for selling a solution to that knotty problem.

CUPERTINO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Seagate Technology plc (NASDAQ: STX) today announced that its Samsung® HDD business unit is shipping its new Samsung Wireless media device for mobile users. Consumers can now carry up to 750 movies, and unprecedented libraries of music and photos everywhere they go. Samsung Wireless allows up to five users to connect making this the ultimate entertainment hotspot. The Samsung Wireless is available globally for MSRP of $179.00.

The Samsung Wireless media device is designed as a portable accessory to consumers’ mobile devices (smart phones & tablets); its sleek design, small form-factor and light weight make it an ideal companion. The Samsung Wireless fulfills a variety of today’s multimedia demands and is a perfect accessory for every generation of mobile lifestyle. No internet connection is needed with the Samsung Wireless; it streams content wirelessly (via WiFi) to up to five devices. The Samsung Wireless is a simple and easy to use device.

“Samsung HDD continues to drive innovation of storage solution for enterprise level to consumer applications,” said Doug DeHaan, General Manager, Samsung HDD division. “Smartphones and tablets are more and more becoming the preferred method for consumers to watch video content but these devices have limited storage capacity. Samsung HDD is meeting this burgeoning demand by providing a device with the storage capacity consumers need to supplement their mobile device.”

“Android is the most popular OS for smartphones on the market with 78.1%* market share; Samsung leads smartphone vendors with 39.5%* market share. The Samsung Wireless gives those consumers a fitting accessory to carry with them. Consumers will now have the luxury of having all of their multimedia content with them everywhere they to go, to enjoy personally and share with family and friends,” said David Klenske, Product Line Director, Samsung HDD.

The Samsung Wireless is a 1.5 TB wireless drive; it holds up to 750 movies, 375k MP3s, 425k photos or a combination of these multimedia or other type files. It supports Android® 2.3 or higher, Windows® 8/7/Vista/XP SP2, and Mac® OS X 10.6 or later. It has long battery life, up to 7 hours**. The Samsung Wireless can connect to other wireless networks to provide internet access in addition to local streaming. Up to 5 mobile devices can connect to it at once. The Samsung Wireless comes with a USB 3.0 port. Also, users can use the Samsung Wireless to charge their mobile devices. To learn more about the Samsung Wireless, please visit http://samsunghdd.seagate.com. Seagate’s Samsung HDD Division Ships World’s Thinnest 2TB Storage

It's labeled as "WiFi-USB" solution. I thing everything that every standard device you are using, be it a phone, a tablet, a laptop, a PC or a console, should play nice with this. regardless of the OEM.

Sorian

I would think with is being Wifi enabled, it shouldn't be a one trick pony.

But, we all know about assumptions.

MSpo

Just a re-branding, and HDD upgrade to the GoFlex Satellite, which, even after firmware hacking to add SAMBA support, was still awful

Will

There is no "Samsung and Seagate team[ing] up". When Seagate purchased Samsung's HDD business and factories a couple of years ago, they also acquired the right to market the products as "Samsung". Hence the more accurate expression "Seagate's Samsung HDD division" used in the press release.

wcjeep

I have the Seagate 1tb WiFi hard drive. Works great for traveling.

mobilemann

can you use them on planes ?

Steve Freeman

I don't see why not? As far as legally, some planes have WiFi Internet access, so I don't see why connecting your device to your hard drive would be frowned upon. And technically, yeah, of course WiFi would work on a plane.

John Smith

would it work in space? I'm thinking because there's no air...

;-)

gotluck

Hootoo tripmate > standalone wifi hdds

guest

The whole concept of a Wi-Fi Hard Drive sounds like a security risk waiting to happen! What will they think of next, a toilet-bowl camera to warn you when it needs cleaning? Yeah right...

underleft

It's Seagate. Will never touch one of their drives ever again. WD for HDD, Samsung for SSD.

Mike Harris

This is one of those "to each his own" topics. I used to have the worst luck with Maxtor*, but have also had a number of WD HDDs suddenly die on me, so I'm not as HDD brand loyal anymore.

I only have experience with one SSD, but I've been using it for a few years and it continues to blow me away. It's on OCZ brand, but I'm sure other brands are also very good.

* This made me question why I haven't heard of Maxtor in so long, so I only just found out they were acquired by Seagate in 2006. I guess I'll be staying away from them too.